A prying new neighbor and his haunting childhood threaten Ted’s quiet life on Needless Street with his daughter Lauren and his beloved black cat Olivia.

Ted makes such a great unreliable narrator. The story unfolds leaving the reader to puzzle out what’s going on with Ted, a long-missing child he thinks of as “Girl With Popsicle,” his neighbors, the dating app women he tries to connect with, and his shrink, who’s obsessed with the book he hopes will make him famous.

I’m not usually a fan of stories that include a pet’s point of view, but the book wouldn’t work as well without the added perspective of Ted’s feline friend. The book includes multiple twists that are nicely foreshadowed, without being too obvious. The story is well-paced, allowing plenty of time to allow the characters into the reader’s heart before Ward causes the reader question everything.

I listened to the audiobook. Christopher Ragland makes excellent choices as he brings each character to life, charming the reader with their unique perspectives.

For me, this was a four and a half star read, rounded up to five. The excellent narration definitely contributed to my high rating.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

Wow! This book was fantastic! It was a roller coaster ride for my brain. I thought I had the plot figured out, but then it took a turn in a different direction. Again, I thought I had figured out how the story was going to end, and again it took a different turn! I’m still trying to figure out what I read and the ending. I loved it! Highly recommend!

“How many times can someone bend before they break forever? You have to take care, dealing with broken things; sometimes they give way, and break others in their turn.”

This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Death. The forest. And a boarded up house at the end of an ordinary street. All of these things are true. And yet…they are all lies.

“Hope is the last thing to die.”

I was drawn to this book by the cover (I mean 🤩), and boy am I grateful for that #coverbuy (or request, as it were) feeling. This book is just brilliant! Brilliant I tell ya! Wow. The gothic/horror genre is not my go to genre, so giving this one five stars is HUGE! I don’t want to say too much about the book itself because I think the less you know the more enjoyment you’ll get out of it. It is dark and disturbing, creepy and crawly, and just so perfectly executed. I am certain my mouth quite literally dropped open at certain revelations in this story; those wtf moments where you’re like HOW DID I MISS THAT?! And yet, you didn’t actually miss that. You were just properly fooled. I read this one slowwwwwly so that I could fully absorb the brilliance that is this plot line and story. Even if you are not a horror reader, I challenge you to give this one a chance. I predict this book will stay with me for some time.

The narration is just amazing! With so many characters coming and going, Christopher Ragland did a fantastic job of giving each character its own…character, if you will. I especially loved his depiction of Olivia, the cat. She was a fun one to listen to!

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, Tor Books, and the author for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The Last House on Needless Street was a wild and disconcerting tale.

Ted lived in a ramshackle house on Needless Street. He was an alcoholic and had an history for losing time, but he loved his cat and his daughter. Dee moved down the street in an effort to convince the world that Ted kidnapped her younger sister years ago. Through the perspectives of Ted, Olivia the cat, and Dee, Ward crafted a mind-boggling story that continued to surprise until the end.

The Last House on Needless Street was a gem of a story. It’s rare for a mystery to successfully introduce multiple red herrings and leave the reader questioning everything that happened, but this book did just that. I struggled to understand what a man, a cat, and his new neighbor had in common, but I enjoyed the ride. And before you ask, yes the cat’s narration was my favorite.

As narrator, Christopher Ragland was marvelous. He affected believable intonations for all of his characters to the point where I questioned if there were other narrators. Based on this one performance alone, Ragland has been added to my favorite narrators list.

The Last House on Needless Street was unsettling in the best way. Readers looking for an adult thriller that will keep them on their toes should look no further.

This book is dark and twisty. If you can hang in there, and get some the reveals then you’ll enjoy it. There were some moments that were a bit tedious too me but dang I love when I book can throw me for a loop!

Spoiler Alert! I just got to the part where it's revealed the cat is Lauren. Mind Blown!!! I can't wait for the reveal and the climax. I'm hanging onto every word!

I've finally managed to read a book by Catriona Ward, thanks to an ARC provided by Tor Nightfire! She's been on my TBR shelf for a while now, but early recommendations by bookish friends in the UK finally compelled me to request this one, and I will be reading more.

However, I've been considering, for a day or more, about what to rate this one, as I've been torn between 3 and 4 stars.

First, the concerns. There's a lot of elements and twists going on here. Most often, they worked for me, but when they didn't, they were frustratingly distracting. One element, I kept thinking was, instead of a red herring, more like a red shark in that it felt like a cheat to me. When the reveal happened, instead of shrugging it off as a clever misdirection as the author clearly expected the reader to do, it felt like a unforgiveable breaking of contract with the reader. Another major element, that I cannot reveal without it being a major spoiler, was really questionable content for me. And the reveal/"twist" for that one was supposed to have turned upside what we were lead to believe... but then I realized, after it was all over, that it really, maybe, wasn't that way, after all, and I couldn't tell whether this was entirely, cleverly, intentional, or whether it was an editorial oversight. And I did feel that it mattered (I'd rather know whether this is something I need to be concerned about when deciding whether to read more by the author). My star rating for these particular elements alone hovers around 3 and possibly even 2 stars.

Worst first, over with. Best for last: I thought this might be one of those books that I really like, where you're left entirely unsure whether the events could have had supernatural elements. This was not the case (though, no spoiler, I'm not telling you whether it actually had the elements or not, just that you're not left wondering, in my experience). But I liked that about it, because the atmosphere/elements still lent themselves to either possible path. Pitch perfect for autumn/spooky season reading.

This is all a bit rambling, I know, but if you take a look at other early reviews that are also responsibly attempting to avoid spoilers, you'll see that this is necessary for this book. So much rides on the twists/secrets/knowing as little as possible going in. So there's not much to say, really, beyond vaguely gesturing to the overall experience. While I found the constant twists and entwining of the different elements rather exhausting, I still liked that about them. And while there were a couple of elements that did bother me, I still settled on four stars, and I will be reading more of Ward in the future.

Recommended with caveats though, of course, I can't actually tell you directly what those are!

ADDENDUM: I requested and received both the digital and the audiobook versions of this one, and ended up listening to the audiobook. I believe there was only one narrator for this - and I say believe because he was so good that sometimes I was actually uncertain as to whether we'd switched narrators. Given that, I didn't particularly enjoy the voice given to the cat, though this distraction wasn't significant enough for me to give up on listening. Otherwise, great on audio!

Eleven years ago, a little girl went missing when she went to the lake with her parents and her older sister Dee, who was supposed to be watching her. Dee has been wracked with guilt ever since, and has made it her life's mission to find out who took her little sister and bring her home. Ted was one of the ones who was questioned in the girl's disappearance but he had an alibi, so he was taken off of the suspect list. Dee was never convinced of his innocence and moves next door to spy on him and try to discover what he did to her sister. Strange things go on at the house on Needless Street. There is his daughter Lauren who she never sees leave the house, and there is a scripture quoting, bible reading cat. Then there is Ted, who keeps losing time, and drinks too much. The story is told in four P.O.V.'s - Ted, Lauren, Olivia the cat, and Dee. I really wanted to like this. I thought it sounded like it would be really good and it had excellent reviews but I just found it weird. It had some "horror" aspects, but mainly dealt with issues of mental health. I think this was just a matter of this book wasn't for me, not that it wasn't a good book.

Book Review: The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
(A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire, September 28, 2021)

★★★★☆ (4.25 Stars)

// Chapter One.
Ted. (First person speaker.)

"...Olivia lands heavily on my stomach first thing making high pitched sounds like clockwork. If there's anything better than a cat on bed, I don't know about it. I fuss over her because when Lauren arrives later, she will vanish.

My daughter and my cat won't be in the same room..."

- From "The Last House on Needless Street" by Catriona Ward //

- - - - -

Right at the get-go, author Catriona Ward lays down her cards. A man, his daughter, and a cat.

And the cat talks.

We've all seen this act - and more often than not, comedic. As in Murakami's "Kafka on the Shore". And Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita". Both acts masterfully applied, by the way.

I plow on through the pages, my first novel of the author.

And then the impossible happens.

A spigot is turned on. And 'That Twist" flows through, delivered with subtlety, nicely set up with exquisite misdirection.

The cat talks, like a prairie preacher. And logically too, as it all adds up devoid of lulu fantasies, scientific D.I.D. to the max.

"That Twist" hits the reader like a ton of bricks and changes the universe hitherto known. Hard to describe without letting the feline out of the bag.

This turns out to be pure and simple superlative stuff, at par with the best in the genre.

Whether you're into horror and suspense, or just want a good read and a helluva ride, this is one book to be experienced!

Review based on an Audiobook ARC from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

3.5 out of 5 stars



This was most certainly a very interesting novel. I must admit thought that I was not sure how I felt about this book. The narrator Christopher Ragland was fantastic! The way he changed voices was really good and he seemed to have no issues at all doing female voices which isn't often very easy for male narrators. Christopher Ragland also did a wonderful job of making you feel each character's moods. You felt the sadness, fear or tension.

I think for me my biggest issue for me was the big twist was actually very obvious, not that the reveal was not good but I just felt a little let down. Does that mean I will not re-read this? Nope! I am sure I will pick this up again sometime.

This one was crazy. A little girl goes missing. A vengeful sister; A disturbed man. You think you know what is happening. You even think you know why part of this story is being narrated from the point of view of a cat. I thought I did. I was close. No cigar for me. I should have known. Seriously.

The themes of this book really take a closer look at how people take advantage of those considered to be weaker than themselves. In the end, you do get to understand how the weakest can turn out to be the strongest and you know what they can do to try to survive.

Read it. Twisted and sad but well worth your time.

WOW...just...wow. What an amazingly wild ride of a book! I loved every aspect of this book- it felt as though I was reading multiple genres all rolled into one massive horror/psychological thriller. I will say, it took me a little bit to get into this audio version of the book, but once I go to around chapter 12, I was hooked and could not put it down. This book is easily one of the best thrillers of 2021. Well done!

Thanks to Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

(3.5 ⭐️) Completely odd and utterly disturbing. This book was an ideal segue into fall and Halloween.

Don’t be taken in by the summary. It is completely false. But then again, it’s also true.

To be clear, you will think, “What the heck am I reading?” for a good 2/3 of this book. The storyline is convoluted and confusing. Yet, I was fascinated and compelled to keep reading. The unnerving vibe of the characters and plot played well with this style of writing. And just as I thought I had figured one thing out; another thing would make me question everything again. The secrets of this book are held tight until the very end.

The audiobook is exceptionally well done, adding an extra layer of suspense and mystique. Narrated by Christopher Ragland, his rendition of the characters and nuanced approach to the text makes this book a complete experience.

There is good reason for Stephen King brandishing his stamp of approval on this book.

Thank you Catriona Ward, MacMillan Audio/Tor Nightfire, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

This is a thriller that slowly unveils the truth one small spoonful at a time.

Which is necessary as you need the time to digest all that's going on. Just when you think you understand what's happening a bit more is revealed.

The plot and characters are hard to understand in the beginning, but readers should just go with it as later in the book it becomes evident why things are so weird. Well written, atmospheric, creepy and just shy of horror novel. Audiobook narration was very well done with one narrator giving voice to all characters. (although I didn't enjoy the meowing of the cat)

The strength of this book is that it brings to light the struggles of mental health and what the mind is capable of doing to protect oneself. Amazing.

I am so glad that Ted was able to connect with a friend at the end.

Sensitive readers should be warned that all the triggers are in this book.

This book did not start out strong for me. I'm not into fantasy/sci-fi, so the talking car definitely threw me off at first. I'm not one to quit a book, so I continued on. I was...confused (?) for most of the book. It didn't make much sense and wasn't as coherent as I usually like my books to be. It did so come together at the very end, but I think it we a little too late for me. Until the last bit, I was going to give 2 stars. The ending bumped it up to 3. Very reminiscent of the movie, Identity.

[2.5 stars]

If you're a fan of nonstop creepiness, you'll want to go into this horror book without having read summaries or reviews. There's really not a lot that can be said without ruining the story. If you read it (or absolutely must know before reading) and want to email to ask me why I didn't rate this higher, I'll be happy to tell you. [It's a writing mechanism, not a story-specific thing.] Regardless of rating, the story kept my attention, and I was piecing together the clues.

There is so much creepiness in the story (from so many directions) that there's next to no relief. There were occasional tiny breaks in the tension, notably one each from Ted (the adult resident of the titular house) and Olivia (the feline resident of the titular house), that I hope make it to publication.

Most of the story is told by Ted and Olivia, with occasional chapters by Lauren (Ted's daughter) and Dee.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio/Tor Nightfire, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

One-sentence summary:
Ted is an antisocial alcoholic who lives with a teenage girl that isn’t allowed out of the house and a religious cat who thinks in English, but when a new neighbor who is on a mission to find out what happened to her missing sister moves in next door, she threatens to bring things to light.

Aaaand, believe it or not, it only gets stranger from there...

I listened to the audiobook of this one. I really thought the first half of the book was incredibly unique and compelling, but at a certain point, I started to get lost. I had to go back and relisten several times to figure out what was happening. Finally, towards the end, I just felt completely lost to a point that I didn’t think going back would even help me, and I was just too frustrated to try. I’m going to be honest with you: I only have about 25 minutes of this audiobook left, and I’m giving up.

I think I’m frustrated that the story -- the events both in the past and the present -- seem to keep being retold in a different way or changing. Um, I don’t like that, and I just don’t understand what is happening, and I give up.

I think my experience of this may have been very different if I read it. In fact, I’ve seen others who listened to the audiobook express confusion and frustration, while a lot of people who actually read the book - in print - seemed to have really enjoyed it.

I’ll probably get the print version of it at some point and give it another chance.

In summary, the narrators are great, but my advice is this: if you haven’t read this yet but are considering it, skip the audiobook. Get yourself a hard copy or the ebook and read the thing.

The Last House on Needless Street is an extremely dark book about a crime from long ago that has never been resolved. The characters are realistic and damaged, it took me a bit to connect everyone, but in the second half things came together a bit more. Hard to tell much more about book w/o giving away spoilers, but overall a good book if you like psychological thrillers with a little horror thrown in.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Short Review: Wow. Wow, Wow, Wow. Holy creeptastic mind trip!

Long Review: You know that feeling that you get on the on the back of your neck when you feel someone is watching you? When the hairs prickle on your arms and won't go down? That's this book.

Wow. Yeah, I know I already said that, but I just can't explain how freakin' awesome this book is without giving spoilers away. I'll just say nothing is what it seems. You just need to read it for yourself.

Oh but leave the lights on when you do. Pro tip. Thank you so much to MacMillion Audio. The audio of this book is fantastic.

Unique, creepy and slightly disturbing. We have an odd, alcoholic man (Ted), his religious cat (Olivia) and a teenage girl, his daughter, who isn’t allowed out of the house (Lauren.) They live in a boarded up, dirty house that no one dares go near. A new neighbor moves in across from Ted’s house (THE Last House on Needless Street) and she’s on a mission to find out what really happened to her missing little sister. The secrets that are boarded up in Ted’s house threaten to come to light.

There are multiple POVs and one is Ted’s cat, Olivia. You heard me, a CAT. At first, it works in a quirky, funny (but sometimes morbid 😬) way. But then somewhere along the way, it lost me. At least until the ending.

There are many elements to this story. At times, it became very confusing to keep up with the multiple POVs and the moment in time. I’m not sure if that is because I listened on audio. There is an author’s note at the end that helps explain it a little better so I encourage you to read that, especially if you had trouble following (I admit, I sometimes did.)

I have a hard time rating this one because while it was cleaver and challenging, it was also pretty bizarre. But at the same, so very unique. The narration is great; I couldn’t help
but laugh at some of Olivia’s 🐈‍⬛ lines!
Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you @netgalley for the gifted alc!